Adjustable wrench



Dea. 2 W24' r LSZBUS B. L. MCNERNEY ADJUSTABLE WRENCH Filed sanft. 24 1923 :j a a Bernard rgzi #We/w@ Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

BERNARD LYNN iviennnnnv, or MIN'NnAroLrs, ivirNNnsorA.

ADJUSTABLE WRENCH.

Application led September 24, 1923. Serial No.A 664,564.

To C/.ZZ whom. it mayy concern:

Be it known that I, BnnNARnLYNN -Mc NnuNnY, afcitizen yoithe'lllnited States, residing in'Minneapolis, inthe county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota,have invented with' force proportionate to thatapplied-.to saidA handle in the working swing of the tool.

Another object isto provide a wrench having 4yielding means designed to be Vvari-y ously setl and adapted to render the toolca-' pable voii uniform ratchetdike `operationupon objects of different dimensions.-

`With the foregoing: and-other objects in view, which will appear inl the*following description, the invention resides inA the novel combination andv arrangement "of parts and in the details of construction l1erein-V after described and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a sideele-vation of a wrench embodying myv invention; Fig.2 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a view similar to F ig. 1, the near cover plate be-fing removed` to expose parts otherwise concealed thereby; Figs. 4 and?) are-sectional 5w?) `et Fig. 2;' F 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2 and Figs. 'T and 8 are detail views of the jaws, showlng different relative positions thereof.

.Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that my improved wrench includes a body Af end jaws I), c and a handle-10.`

The body consists ot ablock 11 yandv cover plates 12 reaching back4 'from the sides ot- Sa-id block 11 is formed withv4 parallel ways 13, 13l transversely thereof and with spaced, parallel guideslots 14,14

the block.

arranged longitudinally of said body.l A.

bolt 15 reaching through the block 11 and cover plates 12 and a second bolt 16 reaching through said platestiethe'block 11 and plates together, lugsal'? on-'sa-id block being fitted in notches 18 in the plates to supplement saidy bolts in preventing relative movement between said block and plates.

The jaw Z) includes a head 19 and shank` 20, a lsimilar head 21 and shank'22 comprising the jaw c. The shanks 20, 22 are slidable in the ways 13, 132L in the block, the shank20 having cam slots 20, 2Ob therein, while the shank 22 is formed with cam slotsl 22, 22b respectively reversed with respect and companion to said slots 20, 20h in the shank 20. Said cam slots are arranged angularly with respect to the direction of movement of the jaws o, c. A pin 23 reaching through companion cam slots 20a, 22a in the Shanks 20, 22 also extends through the guide slot 14 in the block 11. Y A similar pin 24 reaches through companion cam slots 20", 22b in said Shanks and extends through the guide slot 14a in said block. Rollers 25, journaled on the block 11 form bearings for the shanks 20, 22 and prevent the binding of the jaws c with the block 11.

The handle 10 is hinged at one end be ltweenl the cover plates 12 by means of a pintle 26, said handlebeing enlarged at its pivoted end tofsupply .a mounting for a pair of studs 27, 28 which are arranged on opposite sides oi' said pintle 26. A pair of links 29 join the ends of the pin 23 with the studs 27 on the handle 10` and a second pair of links 30 join-theA ends of `the pin 24 with the studs 28 on said handle.- Recesses 31,v inthe sides of the block 11 provide clearance spaces for the ends of the pins 23, 24 and the forward ends of the' links 29, 30, The pins 23 vand-24 shifted by the links 29, 30in the guide slots 14,.- 14 and co-acting with views 4respectively taken onhnes 4-4 andvv the cam surfaces of the slots 20, 22u, 20 and 221" openand closethe jaws `7), c when thehandle 10 is swung back and forth on the body/X.

A liiller strip 32lsecured between the cover plates 12 supplies a mounting tor a curved spring leaf One end of this spring leal? is fixed to the' strip 32 and the opposite end of saidleaf slidably bears against. said strip. An adjustable stop screw 34, passes freely through the forward, enlarged end of the handle 10. A rectangular aperture 35 in. the handle receives an adjusting nut 35VFL in-which the stop screw 34 is threaded. Thel spring leaf 33 serves as a yielding abutment for the head 34a4 of the stop screw 34 and said-screw co-acting with said spring leat 33, yieldingly opposes the throw of the handle 10 in a direction increasing the opening of thejaws 7). c.A

In use, the aws l), c are suitably adjusted to embrace a nut, pipe or other object by tilting the handle l() on the body A. An object to which the jaws Z), c are applied is turned by the application of force upon the handle 10 in a direction tending to close the jaws, the resetting of the wrench for a new power stroke being accomplished by reversing the force upon the handle and swinging it in a direction to open the jaws Z2, 0. .During the working swing Voli the wrench, the gripping power of the jaws upon the object increases proportionately with the force applied to the handle 10, the return swing or". the wrench being initially attended with the opening of the jaws. In order to limit the opening of the jaws c upon return throw of the wrench, the user adjusts the stop screw 34 to suit the particular object at hand. In, making this adjustment the nut 35 is turned to shift the screw 34 so that the head thereof will stand in near proximityTV to the leaf spring 353 upon the power throw of the handle 10. r1`hus located, said screw co-acts with said spring on the-returnthrow of the handle lO and limits the hinging action of said handle.

Consequently limited, as against separation, the jaws b, 0 freely turn back to new gripping position without unnecessary eXpansion. Ayielding ratcheting action may be simulated byV adjusting the screw 34 against the spring 38, when the jaws Z), c are closed as far as possible upon an object. With this adjustment, the spring 33 acts constantly to break the wrench on the axis Vof the pintle 26 and thereby close the jaws b, c. Said spring, however, yields on the return throw of the handle 10 and permits the opening of said jaws suliiciently to allow themto slide over the gripping surface of an object. Being set to ratchet upon an.

object, the wrench is easily manipulated, the jaws Y), c thereof being automatically adjusted during the operation.

The automatic gripping of the jaws I), 0 upon an object during a working swing of theJ handle 10 is an important feature of my invention. In this connection, attention. is invited to the powerful leverage kof the handle l0 upon the links 29, 30 and to the powerful cam action between said links and the jaws ,0. Another important feature resides in the adjustable yielding means, which adapts the wrench to a uniform rateheting action on objects of different dimensions. f

Changes in the specific form of my inventiOn, as hereindisclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention. Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: Y

l. ln a wrench, abody, a handle pivoted thereon, jaws carried by the body, one jaw being slidable thereon, jaw shitting means interposed between the handle and slidable jaw to vary the jaw opening upon relative tilting movements of said handle and body, a spring leal anchored to the body, a. stop screw adjustable in said handle and arranged to strike said spring, the co-action of said spring and stop screw serving to adjustably and yieldingly oppose relative tilting movements of the handle and body in directions increasing the jaw opening, such opposition being effected earlier or later during such movement of said handle and body according to the adjustment of said 2. In a wrench., a body, a handle pivoted thereon, jaws carried by the body, one jaw being slidable thereon, jaw shitting means interposed between the handle and slidable Vjaw to vary the jaw opening upon relative tilting movements of said handle and body, means associated with said handle and body for adjustably and yieldingly opposing the tilting of one member with respect to the other in a direction to increase the jaw opening, said means comprising a spring on one member and an adjustable abutment on thel other member arranged to coact with said spring earlier or later in such relative tilting movement of said members.

3. In a wrench, a body, a handle hinged thereon for manipulating the tool, a pair of jaws carried by the body, one jaw being slidable thereon, means interposed between said handle and slidable jaw for shifting the latter to vary the jaw opening and to grip the jaws upon an object during working throws of the tool and means for adjustably opposing the hinging of the handle on the body and consequently limiting enlargement of the jaw opening during return swings of the tool, said means providing for free hinging movement of the handle with respect to the body through various initial stages of the return throw oi said handle.

4. In a. wrench, a body, a handle pivoted thereon, jaws carried by the body, one jaw being slidable thereon, jaw shilting .means interposed between the handle and slidable jaw to vary the jaw opening upon relative tilting movements of said handle and body. adjustable yielding stop mechanism intel'-v posed between said handle and body for yieldingly opposing the tilting ot one member with respect to the other in a direction increasing the jaw opening, said mechanism being effective only at predetermined relative positions of said members.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification.

BERNARD LYNN MGNERNEY. 

